The Five Companies Step onto the Stage, and Special-Tier Institutions Emerge

The fact that the United Association is a coordinating platform means that it lacks legal force.

Since it lacks enforcement power, its efficiency in dealing with anomalies across the entire world is destined to be low.

And this is something that others obviously know as well.

The problem is clear, but there's no quick way to solve it.

Over the years, with numerous companies operating across different cities, senior management has developed a fixed mindset.

So, what gives you the right to tell me what to do?

Everyone should mind their own business and not interfere with each other.

This has been a contract and custom formed over hundreds of years.

Shi Tiansheng glanced at everyone and slowly said, "Actually, there is a solution now, which is to introduce a king who can win everyone's hearts and minds."

"Let him manage and handle everything in a unified manner, and the king's term will end when the strange occurrences subside."

"Once a quick way to limit and seal away the anomalies is found, the king will abdicate."

"This way, it will be easier for others to accept."

He's called a king, but he's really just a Senior Manager.

The senior executives understood immediately.

The kings of ancient Spartan were similar managers.

He had no authority to forcibly command those Spartan military nobles.

Authorization needs to be obtained through a military council of the aristocratic republic.

So much so that when the nobles were unwilling to send troops to support him, he could only take 300 personal guards to the battlefield.

"Elect a king?" The executives exchanged glances, and after a moment's thought, they realized that this was an effective emergency measure.

After all, there aren't any other good solutions right now.

There are too many conflicts of interest among those large companies.

It's too difficult to win people's hearts.

At this moment, an executive spoke up, "Chairman, I have a different opinion."

"I've studied history before and discovered something interesting: strange occurrences have happened in our history before."

"For example, the Book of Heaven records that in August of a certain year, a strange thing happened in a certain place: the entire population of a city died, while dozens of villages adjacent to the city remained intact. This shows that it was not a plague or war."

"At that time, they transformed their states into Feudal Lords to seek refuge."

"Because some of these strange creatures are capable of destroying entire nations; if you belong to a particular court, you will be killed by them."

"Because these strange creatures are often people who have been through the past. They suffered greatly under the oppression of the court, and after death, they transformed into monsters to seek revenge."

"These kinds of anomalies, because they possess immense resentment and human-like intelligence and consciousness, grow and wreak havoc far beyond what natural anomalies can achieve."

"Therefore, the ancient imperial court had to be divided into Feudal Lords, Feudal Lords in turn further reduced their functions and degenerated into commercial guilds and companies."

"They managed the city through various business guilds, both large and small."

"In this way, even if someone is oppressed and becomes a monster, their target of revenge will be limited to a certain company or industry, rather than an entire city."

"However, as the strange occurrences disappeared, the company gradually began to expand its power and influence, since some people always felt that it was best to manage everything."

The executive shook his head as he finished speaking.

Clearly, he opposed Shi Tiansheng, but he didn't say much.

"Hmph, that's because if no one is in charge, many thugs and bullies have emerged. They have infiltrated the areas that the imperial court has withdrawn from, and ordinary people are living a life worse than death," someone else retorted.

Clearly, this is a dilemma.

If the imperial court doesn't intervene, local bullies will; and if the imperial court intervenes, injustices will inevitably occur, and the strange phenomena will then turn their anger towards the imperial court.

That's almost certain.

Anyone in charge will inevitably make mistakes.

The two sides then engaged in a heated argument during the meeting.

One side advocates for establishing a central power and creating a strong alliance between companies.

In other words, there is an organization similar to a court, with strong coercive power and violent means.

It was used to centrally manage major cities.

The other side advocates for a divide-and-rule approach.

Each company assigned personnel to establish a dedicated organization for coordinating and countering unusual issues.

In short, it's similar in nature to the United Association, but highly Special Tier and targeted.

The two sides argued incessantly.

Chairman Shi Tiansheng was also helpless in this situation.

After all, he was just the chairman, an elected representative of interests, and had no real power.

He had no choice but to tap on the table to stop the argument.

"Alright, now we only have one option left."

"That means inviting powerful Rogue Players and bigwigs from companies together."

Let's discuss and choose a method together.

"Of course, the independent practitioners here are special."

"Independent individuals are very powerful now; one person can possess the strength of several companies. Therefore, everyone needs to change their old habits."

"Unless absolutely necessary, don't do anything to offend them."

In fact, ordinary people like us were not qualified to participate in this level of discussion at all.

However, the times are now completely different from those of the past.

The senior executives couldn't help but sigh.

There was a time when they could crush those at the bottom by relying on their connections, information asymmetry, and wealth.

However, now that Gao Linzhi has appeared, these people from the lower classes have the possibility of rising up.

Wolf Snake Island provides excellent shelter for lone wolves, giving them the opportunity to develop.

In the past, unless a free agent had exceptional talent, reaching purple level or higher, they had no chance to develop their abilities.

Now, with just a rare green talent or a useful blue talent, one can quickly surpass the average Company Executive Players.

After all, the amount of real-world wealth that Company Executive Players can accumulate is currently limited.

The main reason is the surge in gold prices, which has led to a relative decrease in wealth.

That's the truth.

And so, a new meeting invitation was quickly issued.

The people they invited included representatives from five major companies, all of which are at the pinnacle of the Blue Star.

It belongs to one of the five largest companies.

Although each family only manages one city, the area and population of that city are roughly equivalent to a large country on Earth in Gao Linzhi's previous life.

A city often covers tens of thousands of square kilometers and has a population of hundreds of millions.

Of course, this is the limit.

You can't exploit bugs indefinitely.

The five mega-corporations are: "Canglong Company", "Aomori Company", "White Stone Company", "Ambuler Company", and "Trak Company".

Of the five major companies, three are located in the western part of the planet.

Only two are located in the eastern part of the planet.

They are almost all located in temperate regions.

As for the north and south, there wasn't a single one.

These five companies are actually quite low-profile.

Their methods of doing things, and their reputation, are not even as well-known as some medium-sized or large-sized companies.

Therefore, many people have never even heard of them.

Just like many people are unaware of some of the truly powerful military companies in the Mai Kingdom.

Among those invited was Gao Linzhi.

At this very moment.

He was practicing indigenous martial arts in an underground cave.

This is an advanced technique related to concealment and speed.

Gao Linzhi has been studying diligently and has already gained some understanding.

He is currently combining his true form with his cultivation.

He received the relevant information very quickly.

Those people naturally contacted him via private message on the forum.

He was invited to a meeting on countermeasures against the strange occurrences.

A list of invitees was also attached.

After reviewing the list, Gao Linzhi thought about it and decided to participate as well.

The main purpose is to understand the current distribution of power, and also to increase information channels.

He naturally had no good feelings towards the Company Executive.

He knew all too well how cruel and cunning these people were.

Of course, this doesn't mean he has to completely isolate himself from these people.

Only by understanding the enemy can we defeat and deal with him.

The invitation stated that the meeting would be held in a week, in the central Dragon City.

Dragon City is where the Canglong Company is located.

It boasts well-developed maritime and inland waterway transportation, making it a natural deep-water port.

It can be said that all five major cities are located on the coast and also have inland waterway transportation.

This is not accidental, but inevitable.

Because water transport is simply too cost-effective.

Gao Linzhi had been there before; it was a very large city.

Its population alone exceeds 100 million.

This is far more than the population of major cities on Earth.

This is because the other side cannot occupy multiple cities; they can only try to increase their population.

However, on the other hand, they cannot develop a city indefinitely.

Because there was already an agreement between them.

The maximum area of a city cannot exceed 50,000 square kilometers, and the population cannot exceed 200 million.

In reality, many companies are outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant.

Of course, things should appear similar on the surface.

After all, it's easy to get a rough idea of the size of the territory and the population.

This thing can't be hidden.

One week later.

A meeting of five parties, plus individual representatives, was held at the Cloud Pavilion on the top floor of the Riverside Building in Longcheng.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the city lights shone brightly.

Inside the window was a huge round walnut table.

Intricate runes were engraved on the tabletop.

This is keeping up with the times.

Technological means alone are no longer sufficient; these runes, however, can block most eavesdropping and spying.

The meeting was scheduled for 2:17 a. m.

This timing is strange.

Of course, Gao Linzhi was not surprised by this.

After all, the bizarre never chooses a time that is convenient for people.

Setting this time is a clear message to everyone that from now on, it will be impossible to go to work and leave work as regularly as before.

You have to deal with weird stuff all the time, and you have to attend meetings all the time...

At this moment, an elderly man in a green robe sat in the eastern position of the walnut wood round table.

His name is Zhou Xuantong, he is seventy-two years old, and he is a direct descendant of the chairman of Canglong Company.

He wore a long blue cloth gown, the cuffs of which were worn white.

The old man was twirling a string of Chen Xiang beads in his hand.

He didn't speak, only occasionally the beads clinked together, making a dull sound.

At the south end of the walnut round table sat a woman in a green dress.

This woman's name is Su Hongxiu; she is the president of Aomori Company.

This woman is in her early forties, but she has maintained a very youthful appearance, and now she looks like a young girl.

She wore a dark green velvet dress, with an unlit premium cigarette between her fingers.

Her fingernails were bluish-green.

It is said that each layer of nail polish hides a rune-like restriction beneath it.

A young white man in a gray suit was sitting in the due west position.

He is Rumike, the CEO of White Stone.

He is currently the head of the company.

However, there are rumors that his position is unstable and that a major shareholder wants to oust him.

He was thirty-five or thirty-six years old, and his eyes, behind his glasses, never left the tablet in his hand.

His suit was haute couture.

The lining is embroidered with countless tiny talismans—to ward off curses, location tracking, and mental pollution.

These Western companies are just as efficient at dealing with bizarre situations.

They were also quite enthusiastic about the conference.

To the due north, sat a monk in a black robe.

He was a priest and Company Executive at "Ambuler".

It holds a very high spiritual status.

Sending him over is a good fit for his expertise.

His age was hard to guess; he had a shaved head and several scars arranged in a strange, non-Euclidean geometric pattern.

Beneath his black robe, the faint clanging of chains could be heard, suggesting something was locked up.

Next to him sat a guy dressed entirely in a clown costume.

He must be a high-ranking employee of "Trak... Company".

The fact that the two men were sitting together clearly demonstrates that the two Western companies have reached a close alliance.

The center of the round table is still empty.

There were only three people in the casual seating area.

The spot near the door was where Gao Linzhi was located.

He chose this.

This perfectly reflects his subconscious personality; at the first sign of trouble, he immediately shields everyone in front of him.

Beside him was a tall, thin man playing with coins.

This man has a code name, "Old Thousand," and is said to be skilled in divination.

There was also a young man in White Robe eating a convenience store rice ball.

This man was Li Gun, whom Gao Linzhi had met before.

The other person was whispering something to Gao Linzhi.

Gao Linzhi was somewhat surprised by this.

Li Gun is actually a free spirit?

But that's normal; given their talent, it's only natural that they could escape the company's suppression.

However, the other party likely chose to compromise with the company and collude with them.

Just like Zhu Yuanzhang, they compromised and cooperated with the landlords and powerful families early on.

Unlike Gao Linzhi, who broke free from the company's constraints and created his own world.

"Everyone, just three hours ago, another strange Thousand-Faced Mother appeared in the Jinxiu Garden residential area in the west of Longcheng, causing the deaths of forty-seven people."

"Fortunately, we dealt with it in time, preventing its spread." Shi Tiansheng, the president of the United Association, stepped to the center of the round table and explained the current dire situation to everyone.

This prompted everyone to nod slightly.

Now that they've arrived, they must know the current situation.

"Let me speak first," Su Hongxiu tapped her cigarette on the table, "The current situation is indeed very difficult."

"Let's not waste any more time."

"Our Aomori Company is willing to provide ten level 80 experts as personnel to deal with the anomalies, as a demonstration of our sincerity."

"Very good, thank you for Aomori's support. However, the first thing to discuss at this meeting is whether to establish a Powerful organization to manage all the affairs of the various companies in a unified manner."

"Or should we simply establish a Special Tier organization that only deals with the supernatural and doesn't interfere in other areas?" Shi Tiansheng said.

In fact, Gao Linzhi understood from his words.

By presenting these two options, the other party was essentially asking everyone to choose the second one.

Because the first one is clearly not something that can be established in a short period of time.

Sure enough, upon hearing his words, the others made their choices one after another.

"The latter, of course."